Great premise, interesting read

I wanted to like this more. The writing style will appeal to many but it was a bit too wordy and descriptive for me. I know I was supposed to visualize the setting but all those words just made me skim and shrug. This is a personal thing, mind you, I like a very concise description.

The plot is out there from the beginning and the story will show you how you got there by the end. Unfortunately it’s not a stretch of the imagination so more seasoned thriller reader may feel a bit meh by the lack of suspense or twists. I liked some of the characters and saw the potential to develop this into a series. I would look at the next/more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, Poisoned Pen Press for a copy in exchange for a review.

This is so well written. I had begun to give up on finding really well written suspense novels but this new Minnesota author did such a good job! The premise of the book hooked me right away but the great character development, descriptive writing, thought-provoking twists and suspenseful story kept me reading into the night.

Two teens break into an elderly man's secluded house to steal his prescription pain meds. They don't expect the morbidly obese, pain-ridden elderly man to get the upper hand on them -- or to find out that he has a basement room with a chain on the wall and a horrible past they've walked into.

Meanwhile, the acting sheriff has taken this job in a small Northern Minnesota town to get away from his recent tragedy and the rumors about his romantic life. One of the missing teens is his cousin's daughter, and he follows every lead to try to figure out what's happened and to try to save the teens.

I don't know that I've read a cop thriller where the main character is a gay man, and this one did it so well. He's smart, competent and complex. The other characters are also suitably multi-dimensional and interesting. You won't get them out of your mind any time soon, or any of this story and how it unfolds.

I hope Moehling turns this into a series, because I'd happily read what all of these characters get up to next. Highly recommended.

I read a digital ARC of this book for review.

Is this the first in a series? Can it please be a series? I really want it to be a series! I want to read more about Ben Packard. I want to know how things go with the sheriff. I want to find out what happened to Nick and learn about more residents in Sandy Lake. Needless to say, the character development (and wow what solid back stories!) and suspenseful plot kept me up turning pages. I liked that we knew early on who the bad guy was and were able to follow his own history into how he got where he was. No excuse, but it was interesting. This book was well laid out and complete as a stand alone but also gave me hope for future installments in a series. Did I mention I'd like this to be the first in a series?

Two teenagers, Jesse and Jenny, break into the home of an older man to steal his painkiller medications. The unexpected happens and they are faced with the owner, Emmett, and his shotgun. The two teenagers are missing for days and acting Sheriff Deputy, Packard, leads the investigation into their disappearance.

I really enjoyed this book ! It is pretty intense and dark. I’ll be honest, there’s no big mystery or twist, but it was suspenseful. This book is very character driven and well-written. I’m hoping this isn’t a stand-alone and there’s a second book coming because the way it ended made it seem like there will be 🤞🏽

2.5 Stars.
This book hooked me at the beginning & I was super excited to start it. But within the first 100 pages I just got bored.. I have a hard time with mystery/police typed books holding my attention & this one wasn't working for me. I am more of a thriller type & this just didn't have a lot of thrill for me. I did like the dual POV. I thought the main police officer was a great character but overall the book was just ok for me.

"When two teenagers break into a house on a remote lake in search of prescription drugs, what starts as a simple burglary turns into a nightmare for all involved. Emmett Burr has secrets he's been keeping in his basement for more than two decades, and he'll do anything to keep his past from being revealed. As he gets the upper hand on his tormentors, the lines blur between victim, abuser, and protector."

And There He Kept Her is told through the lens of Ben Packard, acting Sheriff in small town Shady Lakes and captor, Emmett Burr. Ben is determined to find missing teens, Jesse and Jenny. While Ben is peeling through the layers to learn what happened, Emmett is racing to cover his tracks.
This story grabbed my attention from the very beginning. From following Ben and Emmett to meeting a fun cast of small town characters, I was completely engaged. The characters were so entertaining that I'm not ready to say good bye to them - fingers crossed this becomes a series.


⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 (4.5)

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audiobook.
Release Date scheduled for June 14, 2022.

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the the gifted e-arc.

I'll admit that I was really surprised that this was a debut novel. I want the next book now! I LOVE small town murder books and this book did not disappoint. I really liked the main character Sherriff Packard. I liked how slowly we get to know him better. I also liked how Emmet was such a complex character. Not your typical serial killer!

When I got to the halfway point of the book, I did not put it down. I had to know how it ended. It really picked up the pace.

Overall, I highly recommend it if you like dark thrillers.

3 stars...

Ultimately, this one was just too slow for me. The pacing didn't pick up at all, and I just felt for most of the book, not much was happening. I wish it was more edge of the seat/fast paced. I also wished the alternating POV between Jenny/Emmet in the room vs Packard were labeled on the chapters.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read & review. Out tomorrow, 6/14!

Two teenagers, Jesse and Jenny, break into an older man’s home searching for prescription drugs. Things don’t go as planned and Jesse is shot dead, and Jenny is held captive by the homeowner, Emmett Burr.

Ben Packard is the new sheriff’s deputy and is in charge of the investigation into what happened to the missing teens. Ben Packard has ties to Sandy Lake as his brother disappeared from there when he was a teenager. Jenny is also Ben’s niece.

The story was more of a slow burn, police procedural that kept you engaged. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their back stories. Some of the characters were very vile, and there are some parts of the story that are difficult to read. I felt some empathy towards Emmett Burr as he struggled with his feelings toward Jenny. He wanted to torment and protect her all at the same time. Jenny was also a bad ass with strong survival instincts!

I absolutely loved Ben Packard’s character! I cannot wait to see where the author takes him next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC.

This is a very good book, though quite dark at times, I would recommend it, I read it in two days. Two teens, Jesse and Jenny, are caught breaking into the house of Emmett, a morbidly obese man, Emmett shoots both kids, not a spoiler, that is part of the blurb. Ben Packard is the acting Sheriff and has recently returned to Sandy Lake after leaving to work in Minneapolis after the death of a colleague. Jenny's mom is a cousin of Ben's, someone he had grown up with, she wants him to investigate after Jenny fails to go to school, Ben is reluctant, thinking that Jenny is taking some time away. Jesse's mom is more concerned about her car than her son, but when a couple days goes by with no sighting of either child, Ben becomes worried. The bad person is known from the beginning and the story is told from Ben's perspective and the bad guy. Although you would think that would diminish the suspense part of the story, the author does a very good job of keeping it high, I was very engaged in the story and the back story on both Ben and the bad guy added depth to the characters. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.

A race to the end - a young couple goes missing and it's up to the "acting" sheriff to find them. In search of prescriptions to sell, the couple breaks into Emmett Burr's home only to be met with Emmett holding a gun. From there, you see different sides to Emmett. He's a bad man that shows some compassion. Very contradictory. Sheriff Packard has his work cut out for him trying to rescue the girl with diabetes before she goes too long without them.

I enjoyed this book. It was one that grabbed you from the onset and wouldn't let go until you were done. Can't wait to see what Joshua Moehling comes out with next.

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC.

Wow! For a debut novel, this had me on the edge of my seat.

This thriller/mystery novel is a little darker than I expected but found myself gripped after we see what happens in the first chapter. This was very well written and found myself easily picturing certain scenes within the book.

For me, this was a definite page-turner and found myself eager to jump to the end to see if the characters make it, but held myself back to read the entire book.

I look forward to reading more of Moehling's novel's as they come.

I almost could not get past the first two chapters. The opening was way too long (with the main action at the very end of it), and I did not like that a stray bear was shot and killed.

But as I learned a little bit more about the protagonist in the second half of chapter 2, it just clicked. Interesting characters, good tempo. I thought the book was a solid detective story, and I recommend this book to those who love a good mystery/suspense/thriller read, and I look forward to Ben Packard in Book 2 of the series.

If I really had to take the whole experience into account, then the rating is more like a 4.5 star.

This is a great debut! Packard and his new corgi frank need to be back for more adventures. The author does a great job of introducing the characters and getting to them is good fun, tho Emmett and Carl could use some manner! Gary is a hoot as well! Looking forward to the sequel!

Loved this book! I couldn’t put it down. Kudos for a debut novel. I loved the characters and the writing style. Definitely recommend.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, wow, wow! This book was unputdownable! Creepy and chilling and yet I couldn’t stop reading. Shocked this is a debut novel. I hope this turns into a series cause I can’t wait to read the next one. Loved how each character was thought out and how well the storyline flowed. Thank you for introducing me to Joshua Moehling and his work! Again, can’t wait to read the next one!

This new to me author caught me off guard in thinking it would be a detective mystery, The cover drew me in, and the premise of the story made me want to read more. Sure, we know the incident that sparks this thrill ride right from the start. Two young kids attempt to steal some drugs from an overweight old drunk that Jesse and Jenny think will be a breeze. They soon discover that is far from the truth.
A new deputy sheriff, Ben Packard, is related to the missing teen Jenny. Susan is Packard's cousin who is mom to the missing girl, and part of his past he wanted to forget. He is on the case to find Jenny. Unfortunately, secrets from the past have a way of coming to light.
Emmet Burr was a complex character. A monster in disguise, but long retired from past activities. calls upon his accomplice Carl to assist with the problem at hand. Never have I hated a character, but I grew to feel empathy for the same character despite his past evil. This author has a way of writing that doesn't excuse but explains the changes in an individual that makes you care. A true gift.
Although this is not a real twisty story or a shocker at the end, it is a solid read that makes you want more. Great premise, solid characters, and enough mystery to keep me wondering, "what happened to his brother all those years ago?". Joshua Moehling sets this up for a series and one I want more of.in the future. Kudos to this debut novel and new author. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a fresh new take in this genre.

#NetGalley, #PoisonedPenPress, #AndThereHeKeptHer

Sheriff Ben Packard is back in a familiar town. As the acting Sheriff, he has a lot on his plate. An interesting thriller that was well written and the characters were diverse. Hoping more from this author!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

They say that “kids will be kids”, but, really… what does that even mean, any more?

It was one thing, when people rolled their eyes and (mostly) looked the other way at kids cutting classes, going out drag-racing, sneaking cigarettes (or now, more likely some prescription pills) from their parents’ stashes, or having a little party and raiding the liquor cabinet when the folks were out late. Everybody has to grow up… and doing that means doings some certifiably dumb, or dangerous, or whatever-other-terms-the-adults-in-question-deem-appropriate stuff.

No matter what the “stuff” is, one thing is certain: no kid, in the history of ever, wants to get in trouble for doing it.

But here’s the thing [at least, I think; my only kid has fur, so I’m no expert, here]: some of the stuff parents get mad about is of the “do as I say, not as I do” or “because you’re not old enough” variety… while some of it falls under the “because that’s crazy-dangerous” header.

Joshua Moehling looks at one way the latter can go, in his brilliant new debut thriller, And There He Kept Her.
_______________
When some local kids in a teeny-tiny Minnesota town decide to start looting out-of-the-way (meaning, in the boonies) houses for prescription drugs, it’s a safe bet that things won’t end well… but how not well turns out to worse than anyone could’ve imagined.

Emmett Burr—the very picture of Grumpy Old Man… completely-unlikable, morbidly-obese, and riddled with a veritable cornucopia of debilitating health issues—wouldn’t seem like much of a threat to most people. (If nothing else, you’d take one look at him, and just know you could outrun him… even, most likely, if you had a broken ankle.) But there’s more to Emmett than first (or second, or even third) appearances would suggest… and for the teens foolish enough to decide that robbing him in the wee hours of the night, while he’s at home (presumably asleep), was a good idea? Well, Emmett would beg to differ.

Emmett, you see, has secrets… and not just the I-watch-porn-in-my-underwear-in-broad-daylight kinda secrets (which, yeah, pervy and gross, but not really soooo bizarre). No, Emmett—in his way-out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere ramshackle house—has a whole big terrifying thing that no one else has any idea about.

Well, except for Carl, that is—Emmett’s repulsive neighbor who shares that thing, and has some plans of his own, once Emmett enlists his aid to help deal with those uninvited guests.

But let’s get back to those foolhardy kids-will-be-kids teens… who, as far as everyone else is concerned, mysteriously disappear into thin air.

When a woman walks into the tiny Sandy Lake police station to report her daughter Jenny’s disappearance, it doesn’t take long before acting sheriff Ben Packard—the newish-to-town deputy currently promoted to “acting” status while the real sheriff battles cancer—goes on high alert… partly because he previously spent several years on the job in Minneapolis, and knows of “bad things”, and partly because he happens to be cousins with Jenny’s mom. [Even when family isn’t close, it’s still something, you know?]

With little to go on—no real clues, only a few, cryptic cell phone texts between Jenny and her also-missing boyfriend, Jesse, and limited GPS tracking data—Ben and his little team start making the rounds of the “usual suspects”: school friends, relatives, known ne’er-do-wells, and so on.

And of course, while the search goes on, so does normal Sandy Lake life… including a decades-long feud between a fabulously-flamboyant, gay trucker/dog rescuer, who moved back into the area many years ago, and his widowed, bible-thumping neighbor, who’s sure that the man living on the next property over is the Devil Incarnate… a situation which Ben finds particularly awkward, having personal issues of his own, in this arena.

With every minute that goes by meaning another minute closer to bad news for Jenny and Jesse, though, Ben realizes that it may be necessary for him to face his own demons—the painful personal history which found him fleeing life in the Twin Cities for a deputy job in Podunk—in order to understand how the villain thinks… and to figure out who the villain is.

But when it comes to a bad guy like Emmett Burr, not even an experienced cop such as Ben can be prepared for the reality of the situation.
______________
I can’t remember the last time I read a book in one day. I honestly can’t. And yet, that’s precisely what happened with And There He Kept Her. I devoured this impossible-to-put-down tale, which kept getting better, the longer I read.

Moehling clearly has a firm grip on creating compelling characters, and in this, his first published book, he creates several… and one way he does that, is by giving us both a different kind of hero and a different kind of villain.

Ben Packard is a complex, likable, and believable man, and his pain and shame are palpable. Emmett Burr, on the other hand, is… well, not so likable (at all), but is, likewise, exceptionally well-drawn. We get to see how each of these very (very) different men have gotten to the places they are when we meet them… which also forces us to ask ourselves, if maybe we shouldn’t try a little harder to look beyond the surface, beyond only the right now of everyone, because there is always a whole world of stuff that’s happened, which we know little or nothing about, making each of us who we are as we show up, today. [Seriously, the fact that we might walk away feel a measure of compassion for Emmett is a darned impressive feat, on the author’s part.]

I would absolutely love to see more books about Ben Packard—a fascinating hero unlike any I’ve read before… and that, right there, may be the best recommendation I can give this wonderfully-compelling thriller, which gets my top marks for a Seriously Great Read.

Pick up a copy of And There He Kept Her when it releases on June 14. I don’t think you’ll be one bit sorry.
~GlamKitty

Thank you to Net Galley for an early digital copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

3.5 rounded up. What made this a four star read overall for me was the same thing that made some others rate it lower - I liked the character development and background information on Packard because I think it’s being set up for a series. You know the bad guy pretty much from the start, the book is more of a slow burn will they/won’t they figure it out in time. I enjoyed the process and getting to know all the players. And I couldn’t believe the author actually had me feeling sympathetic towards Emmet for a hot minute - that’s some magic right there. Looking forward to what comes next for Packard and Sandy Lake.